Marina dredging to benefit Port of Long Beach

A multimillion-dollar dredging operation got under way Thursday in Marina del Rey, where sediment clogging the harbor entrance will be removed and shipped south for construction at the Port of Long Beach and South Bay beach replenishment.

The Paula Lee, a 2,095-ton clamshell dredge, set up shop Wednesday at the south entrance of the marina channel and, by early Thursday, was hard at work, scooping up loads of dark, wet sand and dumping it onto a waiting barge.

"I had no idea that dredges even have names," Los Angeles County Supervisor Don Knabe said at a Thursday news conference announcing the start of the long-

anticipated project overseen by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

"We've been working on this for a very long time. I think I actually had dark hair when I started the project," Knabe said as he faced a crowd gathered on the marina peninsula, where the sun was shining and pelicans dipped into the water behind him.

"Finally, the pieces have fallen into place."

In 2009, a small amount of dredged material was removed from the channel's south entry point as part of a pilot project that used technology to separate contaminants from beach-suitable sand. The estimated 50,000 cubic yards of material removed from the area was pumped to nearby Dockweiler State Beach.

But the last time a large dredging operation took place at both the marina's north and south channel entrances was in 1999, county officials said.

The sediment in place today has narrowed both channel entrances, making navigation difficult for commercial boaters and pleasure craft as well as vessels operated by county sheriff's deputies and lifeguards.

"At times, the water level leading into our channel was approximately 2 feet," said Reggie Gautt, Marina del Rey harbormaster for the Sheriff's Department, referring to the channel's north entry point at low tide. "The north entrance is more problematic.

The $13 million project, which is designed to create a 20-foot depth at the harbor entrance during low tide, is funded with federal money and $5.3 million from the county's portion of motor vehicle license fees, officials said.

Knabe, who last spring traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby the Army Corps for funding, said the work fulfills needs in different parts of his 4th District.

The marina has had a problem on and off with sediment clogging its main waterway, he said, while the Port of Long Beach was searching for fill to use for its Middle Harbor Redevelopment Project. The port plans to combine two aging shipping terminals into one modern complex with upgraded wharfs and an expanded on-dock railyard, and will use 520,000 cubic yards of contaminated sediment that will be shipped by barge from Marina del Rey.

About 140,000 cubic yards of clean dredge material will be deposited off Dockweiler Beach, while a slightly larger load will be shipped farther south to Redondo Beach. County officials said some of the material scooped up by the Paula Lee will be placed on the sand between the Topaz Street jetty and Ruby Street, while the remainder will stay offshore.

Officials have estimated that more than $85 million and 42,000 truck trips will be saved by using barges to transport the sediment to Long Beach. Otherwise, it would have been taken to inland disposal sites.

Last year, a county Beaches and Harbors official said the agency was "pulling out all the stops" to ensure the Army Corps would fully fund the project, because timing was of the essence. The Port of Long Beach had a set schedule for when it would accept fill for its Middle Harbor project, and the county was among a list of applicants approved for participation.

Port of Long Beach spokesman Lee Peterson said Thursday the schedule was extended, allowing the agency to take fill from both Marina del Rey and Newport Beach Harbor.